Thursday, April 28, 2011

An update on Mrs. Robin

First, the bad news: Mrs. Robin has not returned to the nest since noon on Tuesday. At this point, I think it's safe to conclude that the eggs are no longer viable.

Now, the good news: Bill and I have had several Mrs. Robin sightings (or at least, we think it's Mrs. Robin). We haven't been able to make a positive identification, but a bird bearing a striking resemblance to Mrs. Robin has made several appearances in our front yard over the past few days. We're very glad to see that Mrs. Robin appears to be alive and well. After her brush with fame on Tuesday, we hope that Mrs. Robin has been able to find a quite place to hide out, far away from the photographers, autograph seekers, and paparazzi.

In other news, a small song bird (not a robin) visited the nest this afternoon and attempted to steal one of the eggs. The egg was laying in the planter below the nest when we got home this evening. Here is a video of the egg thief:

We are still hopeful that Mrs. Robin will eventually return to her nest and give motherhood another try. I've done some research to try to find out whether robins reuse their nests, and I've found quite a bit of conflicting information. Some sources claim that robins will reuse their nests from previous years. Other sources indicate that robins rarely reuse their nests, because the nests tend to become dirty and infested with parasites. However, given the fact that Mrs. Robin only inhabited her nest for a little over a week, we are hoping that the nest is still relatively clean and parasite-free.

Tonight, Bill and I decided that it was time to remove the remaining eggs from the nest. We are hoping that this will make the nest more inviting for Mrs. Robin, in case she decides to return. We wore gloves in order to avoid touching the nest with our hands and leaving behind a human scent. We wanted to find a dignified resting place for the eggs, and we eventually decided to lay them to rest in our planter.

Lastly, we want to thank all of the readers who have expressed their concerns and condolences over the past few days. When we first started following Mrs. Robin's journey, I never imagined that we would grow so attached to a bird. As corny as it sounds, Mrs. Robin quickly became a part of our family, and we were very sad to see her go. We are hopeful that Mrs. Robin will return to the nest soon. We will keep you posted on any future developments.